Admission

The Clinical Science area will have an information session on Thursday, November 12, 2009, at 12:30-1:30 in the SGM 501 Conference Room. 

 

Application for Graduate Admission to the Doctoral Program

Students are admitted only in the spring for graduate work that will begin in the fall semester.

Visit this site between September and November for the most updated admissions information.

Applications may be submitted from September 1 through December 1. Completed applications must be submitted online by December 1.

Admission to the graduate programs in psychology requires acceptance by the department and admission to the university.

Course Pre-requisites

Students are selected by each specialty area. In reviewing the course background, we prefer students who have developed an understanding of the basic process of research through coursework such as research methods and statistics classes. Other course work that enhances an application includes basic foundational academic work in major areas of psychology, including (alphabetically) biological, cognitive, developmental, personality, and social psychology. Different areas of our department emphasize different coursework, but we recommend that prospective students choosing classes include Introductory Psychology and coursework drawn from the following areas:

a. Elementary Statistics

b. Research Methods

c. Biological Foundations - including coursework such as Comparative Psychology, Behavioral Neuroscience, Sensation and Perception, Learning and Memory, Cognitive Psychology, or Motivation and Emotion

d. Developmental, Social, and Personality Foundations - including coursework such as Developmental Psychology, Social Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Personality

e. Cognitive Foundations - including coursework such as Learning, Memory, and Intelligence

More advanced or specialized courses in psychology (e.g., Neuropsychology, Behavior Genetics, Advanced Statistics, Adolescence, Cognitive Development, Interpersonal Relations, Criminal Psychology, Psychology and Law, Organizational Psychology) are desirable, as are courses in the biological, physical, and social sciences and in mathematics. Students with outstanding records but with less background in psychology will also be considered.

Application Form and URL

Apply online to USC Office of Graduate Admissions

If you must send hard copies of any items (except official transcripts—see below), mail them to: Application Division; Department of Psychology/SGM 508; University of Southern California; Los Angeles, CA 90089-1061.

Application Process

The following items must be submitted online to the Office of Graduate Admissions (unless otherwise indicated) and should be received no later than December 1 to guarantee consideration:

  1. Graduate Admissions Application (noting application to Psychology Doctoral Program). This option is available only between September 1 - December 1.
  2. A Statement of Purpose that specifies your present interests within the fields of psychology, any direct experience of a professional nature (e.g. , directed research or volunteer work), what you hope to be doing in the field of psychology 10 years hence, and the ways in which your experiences have influenced your intellectual development and interest in psychology. Upload as supporting documents.
  3. Supplemental Application: The Psychology Department has an online supplemental application that is included as part of the Graduate School application. As part of this, applicants are asked to select a primary area of specialization, i.e., Brain and Cognitive Science, Clinical Science, Developmental Psychology, Quantitative Methods, or Social Psychology. If your interests span across these areas, please indicate this in your statement of purpose. The faculty you list as potential advisors may be from different areas of the department, but at least one of them should be in the area you select as your primary area. If you are applying to the Clinical Science program, you will also be asked to indicate whether you are interested in Clinical-Aging, Child and Family Clinical, or General Adult Clinical.
  4. Three Letters of Evaluation by professors or supervisors who are familiar with your potential for graduate training and professional contributions to psychology. Follow the online admissions instructions if professors will send electronic letters. If your professor intends to send a hard copy, please have it mailed to the Department of Psychology (see address above).
  5. Application fee
  6. Arrange to send one official transcript from each college attended to: Office of Admissions, GRADUATE, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0915. (See online application to access cover sheet.)
  7. Arrange to have an official copy of your General GRE test scores sent by ETS. (ETS Institution code: 4852, Department Code: 2001 or 2016). The subject exam is not required. If your score was sent only to the Institution code but not to the department, please send a hard copy of your scores to the Department of Psychology (see address above).
  8. Please upload your CV/resume at the online Admissions site as supporting documents.
  9. WARNING: Once you submit your online application, you can no longer upload items. If you wish to submit additional supporting documents, please send those items to the Department of Psychology (see address above) or contact Irene Takaragawa.
  10. If you need assistance, please contact Irene Takaragawa, Graduate Advisor, at 213-740-2205 or itakarag@usc.edu

Data for Clinical Psychology Applicants

GRE and GPA data for entering clinical science classes can be found here, in compliance with APA Implementing Regulation C-20.